Bows and Pink Roses
by Twilight Zephyr
Summary: Hallowe'en is always full of surprises, some of them are just more interesting than others. Mareth ; slash ; one-shot


**Notes:** I actually meant to have this up yesterday – technically it is yesterday since it's now 1:06 AM which makes it Monday and not Sunday – but life got in the way and I had to help with some preparations and then I spent the rest of the day with a friend. So this had to wait. My apologies to everyone, so have a little Hallowe'en present from me.  
**Title:** Bows and Pink Roses  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** Marcus/Seth  
**Rating:** pg13  
**Words:** 7856 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series is the property of Stephanie Meyer, and I'm definitely not her. Nothing was made from writing this, and I don't claim to own anything... except the idea.

**Bows and Pink Roses**

The door to the bedroom was locked when Marcus tried the handle, so instead he rapped on it sharply and called out to his lover, "Seth are you alright? Do you need any help? If we don't leave soon we will be late."

Marcus wasn't concerned about the party himself – although he still wasn't sure what the point of the holiday was, except that it gave adults the excuse to dress up in sometimes ridiculous costumes – but apparently Seth was because he was refusing to leave their bedroom. In fact, Seth had been extremely tight-lipped about his costume ever since Alice had shoved the wardrobe bag at him a week before.

"_Trust me, you'll look great in it!"_ That was what she had said. Marcus had never seen reason to doubt her and her abilities, if she said it would look good than it would. He really didn't understand why Seth was being so difficult...

"N-no I'm fine!" Seth's reply was muffled by the wood of the door, but Marcus could hear the stress in it and that made him frown.

"Are you sure? Seth please let me in, maybe I can–"

"I look ridiculous," Seth grumbled, kicking the door. "I'm not coming out; you can tell Alice whatever you want, but make sure she knows that I hate her right now for this."

Marcus blinked, "I fail to see how it can be that bad."

"Yeah, well it is."

Looking down at his own outfit for the evening, Marcus really couldn't understand why Seth was throwing such a fit about whatever costume the bubbly vampire had picked out for him. She had said that she'd picked out a theme for the evening, but whatever theme that was she hadn't let anyone know. Although, Marcus was quite sure that Edward might have been aware of it.

His costume consisted of a charcoal grey overcoat with a deep brown collar and cuffs, with a matching vest and pants; the neckline of the vest was edged with beautiful black silk, and he was quite glad to be able to wear one of his own white shirts and salmon colored cravats with the outfit. Completing his look were a pair of white gloves and frameless glasses that Alice had pressed into his hands.

Alice had even taken the time to show him how he was to style his hair – her instructions had been explicit – and he had followed those directions to a T. He wasn't sure why it mattered, but Alice had been very insistent so he had caved into her demands, as usual; it was simply easier that way.

"_Your hair's a little long, but it works! Ah! You and Seth will make such an adorable couple~!"_

"Seth," Marcus began, feeling nervousness welling up in his stomach. "You know that I will not go without you, so unless you intend to stay in there all night..."

With a huff and a very loud thud, Marcus knew that he'd won the argument. He heard the click as the door was unlocked, but the door didn't open right away.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"You have my word."

The door creaked open and Seth stepped very gingerly out into the hallway, bracing himself with a grimace on his face as though he expected Marcus to break out into hysterical laughter at any moment. His eyes were squeezed shut as he waited.

Marcus couldn't help himself, he gaped at the creation that Alice had picked out for his young lover to wear.

For one thing it was pink. Pink and made of fine cloth, with white linen ruffles at the bottom; the dress itself fell to the floor and pooled just a little at Seth's feet, forcing the young shifter to lift them as he walked. Black ribbons had been sewn on and held the dress in elegant ruffles to expose the white underskirt; they were tied in decorative bows at the hem.

The dress itself was off the shoulders, decorated with white ruffles, black ribbon and a black and white striped bow at the chest with a pink flower – probably a rose – sewn to the center. Black gloves covered Seth's arms, and there was a matching ruffled choker tied at his neck. Completing the look was a long black wig tied into pigtails, with a hat perched at an angle on Seth's head, the same pink roses decorating the brim of it as well.

He looked like a gorgeous, if not a little flat chested, young woman.

Reaching out, Marcus brushed his hand along Seth's cheek before cupping his chin and tilting his head up so that he could look into the other's eyes.

"Um..." Seth stuttered, cheeks turning a bright shade of pink to match the pastel color of his dress. His eyes shot wide open when Marcus' lips brushed against his.

"You look beautiful, as always." Marcus gave Seth one of his rare, breath-taking smiles as he let his bright red eyes rake over the young shifter's body, taking in the curves that had most likely been accomplished using a rather unconventional and painful method.

It didn't escape his notice that Seth was breathing a little shallower than usual.

"R-really?"

Marcus nodded, sliding his arm around Seth's waist to pull him to him, "I have said before that you look lovely no matter what you where – even if you're wearing nothing. Although, I was not expecting anything like this."

He pressed his lips against Seth's, pulling Seth to him tightly as he did. His tongue traced the other's lips before being granted access and then the young shifter practically melted into the vampire's much taller frame. Marcus' hands dropped lower, brushing the large bow that the dress was drawn up into in the back.

When they pulled apart, Seth's cheeks were still a light shade of pink and he glanced down; one hand reaching to nervously fix one of his long black gloves as he did so.

"You seem to like this," he muttered, still breathing heavily.

"Of course, though I must admit I'm surprised that you were able to get such a delicate figure by yourself..." He could feel the hard lines of fabric and whalebone under his fingers and under the fine fabric of the dress itself.

"Ah yeah... Alice dropped by. Apparently she knew that I'd try to get out of this so she came to make sure that I was ready. Which um... meant that she uh... helped me with the finer details of the outfit, including helping me into it and well..."

"I'm surprised that she not only convinced you to wear a corset, but that she found one that would fit you." Marcus brushed aside an errant strand of black hair from Seth's face.

Seth's head snapped up at the touch and he blushed an even darker shade of pink, "I'm a little nervous... about what she might have given the others."

Pressing a kiss to his temple, Marcus smiled, "I wouldn't worry. In any case, I will have to thank Alice for this later. You really do look exceptionally lovely in pink."

"Ah... thanks, I guess..." Seth glanced away, before shyly looking back up at the vampire from beneath his lashes – which looked suspiciously longer and thicker than usual. "I get the feeling this is giving you ideas..."

He brushed his hand against the slight bulge that was forming in Marcus' pants, "You like me in this far too much, I think."

"You won't begrudge me my arousal I hope," Marcus murmured, lips brushing Seth's temple and making the young shifter shiver in anticipation and desire in response. "I could care less what you wear, you would look as delectable as you do now."

"Are you going to help me to the car?" Seth asked with a small smile. "I'm not sure how well I can manage the stairs in this dress and, well, these shoes."

He lifted the skirts and extended one stocking clad leg, revealing rather delicate heeled shoes underneath.

Marcus smirked and gave a little bow, "Of course. I wouldn't want my lady to injure herself by accident or risk damaging her clothes."

_It does explain the cloak..._

Since it was a bit chilly out, Marcus pulled the cloak which had been in the same garment bag as his costume and draped it around Seth's shoulders and fastened it at the other's neck. Because it was fashioned for Marcus' height and build, he had to fasten the neck of it a little tighter than usual and the hem of the cloak pooled on the ground around Seth's ankles.

He looked even more beautiful, like a young lady from an era long since gone. With flowing black tresses and elegant curves... in short, he was irresistible.

With a smile Marcus offered his arm to his young 'lady', feeling a great surge of pleasure when it was accepted. He was both pleased and a little surprised when Seth returned his smile with a rather demure one of his own and lifted his skirts as they left the hotel room, the door locking behind them with a click.

"Do you think the theme is something like Victorian fashion?" Seth asked as they walked towards the elevator. He stuck close to Marcus, even though it was early in the evening and most patrons were out enjoying the town's sights on Hallowe'en, there was still the chance that they'd run into other guests and Seth didn't want to have to deal with any possible crap from them.

"Perhaps, although we will probably have to wait and see what the others are wearing to be sure." The vampire smiled and pressed a kiss to Seth's temple. "I'm sure she has everything arranged perfectly; she has been planning this for months."

"She's had my measurements ever since we became friends," Seth muttered. "It's how she knew the dress would fit and how she was able to get everything made for me so that it would fit perfectly. She had your measurements as well – from her visions."

"Ah, that explains a few things. I was wondering about how everything seemed to fit so well," Marcus remarked thoughtfully as they stepped into the, _**thankfully**_, empty elevator.

"It's Alice, everything has to be perfect."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The Cullen household was fully decorated to reflect the holiday. Pumpkins had been carved and set on each step with detailed faces that either were adorable or held a certain sort of grotesque feature to them. Strings of flickering lights had been strung up between the posts on the veranda and the lawn was decorated with fake gravestones and various skeletons and zombie limbs clawing their way from the soil.

In the windows of the house, flickering light came from what were either candles or lighting designed to mimic them. Strains of music could be heard from the house.

Marcus was at the passenger door helping Seth out before the young man could ask, and he gave his vampire a grateful look. It was hard enough to manage the dress, but add on the heels and probably would have done a very graceless face plant and ruined the costume that Alice had put so much time and effort into. Taking flack for that wasn't worth it.

He took the vampire's arm again as Marcus escorted him to the door, helping him up the stairs. Seth made sure to keep his skirts lifted out of the way of his feet as they ascended the steps to the front door.

Before either could knock, Alice flung the door open and beamed out at them.

"See? It wasn't so bad Seth." Alice grinned. "I told you that you'd look fabulous! And you look amazing too Marcus."

The bubbly vampire was decked out in a period maid costume, the apron secured around her thin waist while the black dress only hung to just a little below her knees. With it she wore laced up boots and a little lacy hat; thick circular glasses glinted in the flickering light as she looked up at them.

She opened the door further to let them in, revealing the interior of the house. All of the furniture had been either removed or pushed to the walls. At one end a stereo was playing what sounded like soft violin music while a buffet table had been loaded with food and pressed against one of the walls. Heavy red, velvet curtains had been hung along the wall of windows on the other side of the house.

"You really outdid yourself this time Alice," Seth remarked as he let Seth take his cloak.

Alice smiled as she took the cloak from Marcus and stashed it in a nearby closet that was already packed to the brim with coats and other outerwear. "Thanks! I had to make sure that when I sent out the invitations that the theme of the party was on there too. So far everyone's followed it to a T!"

Looking around, Seth smiled. He'd been right; the theme of the evening was definitely Victorian style. He recognized several teens from Forks High mixed in with the crowd along with a number of shifters from the reserve too. With three of their members involved with vampires, it hadn't taken long for a friendship to strike up between the shifters and the Cullen coven – although it was a little more rough of a relationship with Alec and Marcus just because of how they'd met their shifters.

Over in one corner, Seth caught sight of Rosalie and Emmett. His eyes bulged out when he realized that Rosalie was wearing some velvet and leather outfit that was awfully short and cut rather low for the time period, while Emmett's pants and vest looked to have some sort of checkerboard pattern on them along with a very obnoxiously bright yellow bow tied at his neck.

He couldn't see Bella and Edward in the crowd, or Jacob and Jasper for that matter, but he was sure that they'd show up sometime to greet them.

Esme looked particularly stunning, decked out from head to toe in red, with the exception of the large black bow tied at the small of her back and the white cravat at her neck. Even her lips had been painted a bright shade of crimson to match her overcoat and dress. And Carlisle was dressed to match.

At first, Seth thought that Alice might have convinced him to cross-dress as she had him, but the distinct absence of a dress shot that right to hell. Instead, he wore a bright red wig that fell past his waist with a striped burgundy vest, white shirt, and red striped tie at his neck. The outfit was complimented by the accompanying black gloves and, oddly enough, heeled red and black heels. He wore red glasses with a chain decorated with skulls attached the rims and a red coat that resembled the one that Esme was wearing.

Both of them smiled warmly when they saw Seth and Marcus, and immediately came over to greet them.

"Oh my, you look beautiful tonight Seth!" Esme exclaimed with a brilliant smile.

"Th-thanks," Seth replied nervously, fiddling with his gloves again. "You look good too Esme, did Alice...?"

"She picked out all our outfits." Carlisle slipped an arm around Esme's shoulders and smiled, revealing a rather realistic set of very sharp teeth. "Although I'm a little curious to know where she got her inspiration from. Some of the outfits are a little... creative you could say."

Seth paled a little, "Are they worse than mine?"

Alice smacked him lightly on the shoulder for that, "Try to behave a little more like a lady Seth. Your outfit is hardly inappropriate and I was right; you were the best choice for it. I think Embry's a little too broad in the shoulders to pull it off."

That made Seth frown, "Come to think of it, where is Embry? I would've thought he and Alec would've beat us here; they're staying with his mom aren't they?"

"Oh, I think Alec may be appreciating what I chose for Embry at this moment." Alice giggled suggestively before excusing herself to welcome in a new batch of guests that had just arrived.

The little quartet moved a little further into the room, Seth unconsciously trying to hide himself behind Marcus so as to avoid being spotted by anyone he knew. Unfortunately that didn't work so well because Jacob spotted them easily and immediately came over to them to say hello to Marcus.

"Oh my god Seth!" He broke out into laughter when he saw that the young woman he'd thought had been accompanying Marcus was actually his pack brother. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Seth glared at Jacob, "I think that would be obvious."

He flushed a darker shade of red when he felt Marcus arm slip around his waist, sliding dangerously low, and pulling him firmly to the vampire's side. The vampire in question only smiled warmly back at the newcomer, "Now, now Jacob. I happen to think that Seth looks absolutely stunning this evening; the _**bell of the ball**_, don't you agree?"

Jacob snorted as he tried to stifle his laughter, "Sure, whatever you say Marcus. I'm just glad that I'm not wearing anything like that, it looks uncomfortable."

"It is," Seth grumbled. "Alice went the whole mile with period accuracy..."

Looking over Jacob, Seth was internally lamenting the fact that he was stuck wearing this pink creation while Jacob actually got to wear something that wasn't emasculating and near humiliating. In fact, his was deceptively simple. A black suit with a white collared shirt and black tie, black gloves completed the look along with a pair of rectangular glasses.

Seth wondered about what it was with Alice and glasses; Jacob made three people who were wearing them.

"Huh, kind of hard to believe that all of this is 'period accurate'," Jacob quipped and then grinned. "You should see what she gave Edward and Bella to wear; it's pretty damn funny."

Usually, Seth would have rolled onto his tip-toes to see over the crowd in order to see if he could spot Bella and Edward but he didn't trust his balance in the monstrosities that Alice had forced him into, "Really? I haven't seen them... it can't be that bad."

"I think that Bella has gone into hiding somewhere."

Seth jumped just a little when Jasper emerged from the crowd and came to stand next to his own lover, sliding an arm around Jacob's shoulders as he did. His costume was just as subdued as Jacob's – long black coat, black pants with a gray sash that went from left shoulder to right hip – if it wasn't for the long silver wig he was wearing and the ridiculous looking hat with its long tail like extension that trailed down behind him.

"What happened to your face Jasper?" Seth asked, looking at the scars which he didn't remember having been there before.

"Hm? Oh, Alice added them." He shrugged, eyes hidden behind the long bangs of his wig. "She said something about them adding character I think, I really wasn't paying attention. But I have to say, she outdid herself with your costume Seth."

Seth blushed furiously under the scrutiny of the blond vampire and shifted closer to Marcus, "Thanks... but wait, how come you're not being exposed to the same hell I was?"

He pointed at Jacob for emphasis.

Chuckling, Jacob shrugged, "When she was doing the planning, she said something about me being too tall and that this would work better. I've learned not to argue with her and I really don't like the idea of parading myself around in a dress."

Jasper smiled and pressed his lips to Jacob's cheek, "But I bet that you would look beautiful in one... if we found the right color and cut of course."

"You shut up or you're outside tonight."

Jasper smiled and snapped a salute, "Yes sir."

The two of them drifted off a little after that, moving to mingle with a few other members of the pack. Seth spotted Sam and Emily there, both dressed in obviously painstakingly rendered Victorian dress with their now two year old daughter Leanne balanced in Emily's arms. They stopped Jasper and Jacob and struck up a conversation, their tiny daughter reaching out grab at Jasper's costume.

He spotted his sister in a corner, looking absolutely wicked in a black dress. Beside her Paul was leaning against the wall, looking just as intimidating and cross as always although his expression softened every time Leah turned to speak with him. She eventually dragged him out onto the dance floor.

Carlisle and Esme drifted off to welcome in more guests, leaving Marcus and Seth alone in their little corner.

"Are you nervous Seth?" Marcus asked, turning to his young lover.

With a heavy sigh, Seth leaned against the taller vampire. "I'm wearing a pink confection of a dress, I look like a girl and I'm surrounded by my friends and family and a few strangers! I'm not nervous, I'm downright embarrassed!"

One of the passing guests gave Seth a look as they passed, eyes wide and mouth gaping open as she did so. Clearly she hadn't been expecting a male voice to come from such a pretty young lady.

Seth blushed and looked down at his feet in response.

Leaning down, Marcus brushed his lips along the shell of Seth's ear as he whispered, "It has never mattered to you before what others think of you, what should it matter now? I know that it is you beneath this disguise and it changes nothing about yourself except your appearance – all of which I find pleasing no matter what you wear. I love you Seth, that will not change."

A shiver shot down Seth's spine at the contact and his chest swelled with warmth at those words. He turned towards his lover and reached up to slide a hand behind his neck and tilt his head down so that he could kiss him properly. When they pulled apart, he sighed heavily, "I know, but still... I'd feel a little better about this if I wasn't so damn uncomfortable."

"Speak for yourself."

The two lovers' heads snapped around at the interruption, Seth turning a bright pink as they did so before his mouth dropped wide open.

He had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing when he saw what Embry was wearing. It actually had to be just a little worse than what he was stuck with.

Well okay, it wasn't as ridiculous as his, he supposed, but there was a lot of ruffles and ties. Although, the color scheme itself was a little more toned down than his. The dress itself was white with black ruffles and had several tiers; the dress fell a little past Embry's knees. His legs were encased in black stockings and on his feet were what looked like death traps.

"Shit! How high are those heels Em?" Seth hissed, glancing down; they looked about the same height as his, actually...

"Alec measured them," Embry replied in a quiet voice. "He says they're about four inches."

"My feet are going to be killing me when tonight's over..." Seth grumbled.

Unlike Seth, whose wig was arranged into two long pigtails, Embry's was short and held back by a black and white lace headband with bows at the ends. In short, it was rather cute.

"I'll agree with that; mine are already starting to hurt." Embry immediately sat himself down on the nearby couch, very carefully bending over to massage one of his ankles. "Remind me to throttle Alice when this is over because this is so not worth it."

Seth noticed a darkening hickey on the side of Embry's neck, peeking out from the high ruffled collar of his dress and flushed. _Well, I guess that explains why they're late..._

"Do you... do you think anyone's recognized us?" Seth asked in a hushed voice.

He wasn't ashamed, really. He just felt uncomfortable with the assumptions that he was sure people would make if they ever caught him dressed like this, costume party or not. Dressing in drag just really wasn't his thing.

Embry frowned, straightening up and trying to sit in a more demure and ladylike position. "Dunno, Paul didn't give me anything more than a cursory look when Alec and I came in so I actually don't think he recognized me. And Quil walked right past us too and just said hello to Alec before going off to see Claire..."

Seth let out a deep exhale of air, "Good, because I really don't think I could live this down..."

"Oh gosh! Seth is that you?"

"Fuck! Hide me!" Seth immediately tried to wiggle his way behind Marcus but failed miserably.

Bella bounced over to him, and Seth could see Edward trailing a short distance behind her. He had to do a bit of a double-take because he didn't recognize her at first.

_I don't think I've ever seen her show so much skin..._ And indeed, Bella's costume was extremely short, only falling to mid-thigh and the dress had slits on the sides of it too. Underneath she was wearing a pair of spandex bike shorts to preserve her modesty – and Seth was envious because he didn't get something nearly as nice – and black thigh-high stockings covered her legs, with dainty slippers on her feet.

The dress itself was a pretty shade of lavender, with a mandarin cut and fastenings that went from the neck to her right shoulder. The sleeves were long and bell-shaped, the cuffs the same shade as pitch while the rest of the sleeves were a deeper shade of purple than the dress. The wide cloth belt around her waist was tied shut with a strand of golden string and her dark brown hair was pulled up into two buns, one affixed with a bright pink flower pin.

Edward was dressed to match, in a deep forest green mandarin cut tunic that fell nearly to his ankles. Like Bella's, it had slits only Edward's reached his knees and underneath he wore a pair of white, loose-fitting pants with a pair of matching black slippers on his feet. The cuffs of his robe were white while the trim was a deep shade of red. The belt sash was black.

"Seth, is that really you?" Bella asked again. Her golden eyes were wide as she took in his appearance. "Oh! It is you! I nearly didn't recognize you!"

Seth grumbled out under his breath, "I really hoped you wouldn't recognize me..."

"It's Alice's idea, right? I really don't get where she gets some of her ideas from sometimes..." Bella continued to ramble on for a few moments before Edward cut in.

"Bella, love, I don't think that they really need to hear all of the colorful names that you've come up with for our sister." He gave Seth a warm smile, "Alice gets carried away sometimes, and it's been a long time since she last saw you. I guess she feels that she needs to go over the edge at times.

"But you do look good in that, it suits you."

Seth nodded his head, face still a bright shade of pink as he moved closer to Marcus and nearly tripped over the hem of his dress as he did. He still didn't feel like he could breathe too deeply with the corset on that Alice had 'helped' him into, but he was managing well enough. So far no one else had recognized him besides the Cullens, and he intended to keep it that way.

Embry sighed, "I still think she's crazy."

Bella nearly jumped at that and looked at Embry with wide eyes, "E-Embry is that you?"

"Yeah it is. Can you keep it down? I don't want anyone else to know it's me..."

"I hardly think it's hard to deduce," Alec cut in smoothly.

The Volturi guard looked extremely handsome. His dark brown hair looked a little more groomed than usual, but the white suit – uniform? – that Alice had picked out for him really brought out his pale beauty. The trim on the uniform was black, as were the two belts that were buckled over it around his waist. The uniform jacket hung to about mid-thigh and was buttoned up the top, revealing only the high-collar of his white shirt and the black tie. Black cord was draped along his torso and a ribboned Victorian broach bearing the engraved profile of the monarch could be seen on the left breast.

Seth was a little surprised to see a sword sheathed at his waist too. Alec also was wearing white gloves and knee high boots to finish the look.

Embry scowled at his mate, "What took you so long?"

Much to everyone present's surprise, Alec quite gracefully fell to one knee and took one of Embry's gloved hands in his. He pressed his lips to the knuckles and peered up at Embry through lowered lashes, "I must beg for your forgiveness my lady."

Embry blushed and shot the other two couples a dark and embarrassed look before turning his attention back to Alec and grumbled, "Your forgiven but I still want an answer."

Straightening up, Alec gave him a small smile, "Of course. Your friend Quil was wondering if you were here–"

"Oh god, please tell me you didn't point me out!"

"–so I told him that you were," Alec finished with a sigh. "I didn't tell him what you were dressed in or that you had come with me. I really don't see the point in pretending that you are someone else Em, it's obvious that you are going to be here with me. I wouldn't have agreed to come if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, well, I really don't want anyone to see me like this."

Alec sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I told you that we didn't have to come if you were uncomfortable with your costume..."

"You're a pretty good distraction and confidence booster."

"Thank you." Alec smiled and bent down to kiss his mate senseless.

The other two couples present looked away to give them some privacy. Edward and Bella looked at each other a little awkwardly before making a few excuses about being needed elsewhere and wandering off into the crowd to chat to a few old classmates and greet a few more late arrivals. It didn't take long until the party was in full swing and the dance floor was full of swirling couples.

Embry and Alec were sitting on the couch, deeply involved in conversation and a bit of a make-out session; they seemed quite happy to tune out the rest of the world and focus on each other.

Marcus and Seth had moved a little farther away to give them some privacy, Marcus' arm still wrapped possessively around Seth's waist and glaring at any humans who dared come too close or to give the young shifter some rather interested looks. A few were brave enough to come up and ask the pretty young 'lady' for a dance, but one dark look from Marcus sent them scurrying just as the words were leaving their throat.

"You're certainly possessive tonight." Seth was careful to keep his voice soft so that anyone walking or dancing nearby wouldn't be able to hear him. "I know you can't read minds, but is there something about all this attention that you're not liking?"

Tapping the side of his nose with his free hand, Marcus replied with, "I can smell the desire and arousal on them... I don't like how it's directed at you."

Seth blushed again and averted his eyes, only just noticing how a large number of the single men at the dance were eyeing him with dark looks in their eyes. Instinctively he moved a little closer to Marcus and shot them a rather disdainful look. It didn't seem to have any effect though, a few of them smirked.

Finally, Marcus let out a deep sigh and turned to Seth and gave him one of those playful smirks of his, "My lady, may I have this dance?"

"... I don't know how to dance," Seth replied, embarrassed. "Not like this."

He gestured towards the dance floor where several couples were twirling around with each other, although he noticed that most of them were just swaying and twirling in time to the music. The only ones who really looked as though they knew what they were doing were Rosalie and Emmett who were cutting a path through the other dancers.

Marcus just smirked and tilted Seth's head up so that he could look into those brown eyes he loved so much, "Do not worry Seth, all you need to do is follow my lead. That's really all there is to dancing. So I must ask again, will my lady honor me with this dance?"

Flushing, Seth nodded and let Marcus lead him out onto the dance floor. He was acutely conscious of all the eyes on him as they did, and he ducked his head, hoping that none of them recognized him or put two and two together and realized that he didn't have that second X chromosome. Suddenly he was glad for the detailing on the front of his dress, it hid the fact that he didn't have any breasts.

Dropping his voice so that only Seth could hear, Marcus instructed him, "Place your hand at my shoulder Seth and then follow my lead."

The vampire slid one hand around his mate's now thin waist, taking Seth's other hand in his while the young shifter slid his hand to Marcus' shoulder. Then he stepped forward, forcing Seth to step backwards a little awkwardly, and then they were off.

Seth was a little surprised at how easy it was. He could tell from Marcus' body language just what he intended to do next and for him to mirror that movement and execute whatever it was that Marcus wanted him to; it didn't take long until the two of them had attracted a little audience. Marcus merely smiled and pulled Seth a little closer to him as they twirled past two rather jealous looking girls who swooned when the handsome vampire passed them.

_Too bad girls, he's mine._ Seth couldn't help but mentally gloat at the jealous looks that he was getting out of quite a number of the young women who were present. Even the ones who had dates were giving him dirty looks.

He'd always known that Marcus was attractive so it came as little surprise to him. But that feeling of triumph was something new; Seth hadn't ever felt pride in the face of someone else's envy, but considering the fact that Marcus was just as surely his as he was Marcus' and there was nothing those silly girls could do about it made him feel a certain amount of pride.

It also didn't escape his notice that quite a few guys were giving _**Marcus**_ dirty looks. Whether it was because he was dragging their girlfriends' attention away from them or because he was dancing with, arguably, the prettiest 'girl' there was up for debate. But Seth couldn't help but blush when Marcus looked into his eyes and smiled, leaning a little closer to brush their lips together on a turn.

The two of them brushed past Rosalie and Emmett, the former giving Seth a warm smile while her husband just winked at him suggestively.

Marcus' hands tightened their grip around Seth in response, and Seth couldn't help but smile at that. "You don't need to worry about Emmett; he knows better than to try and touch something that's not his. And besides, he has Rosalie, who is basically perfection incarnate."

"I highly doubt that," Marcus replied, just as softly. "For I have the most beautiful creature alive in my arms at this moment, and I have no intention of letting them go."

"Rose isn't alive," Seth pointed out. "Which doesn't disprove my statement."

"Then let me rephrase what I said." Marcus leaned a little closer, dipping Seth down into a carefully controlled dip before pulling him back up and into his chest. "Nothing is more beautiful than that which is alive, for there is always the risk that it might wither and die at any moment. You might be an exception, but you will never be more beautiful than in this moment or in the next."

Seth flushed and gave a hesitant smile, "You really think so? Even though I'm dressed like this?"

"Seth, I think you are beautiful no matter what you wear. But I must admit..." He leaned in close, lips touching Seth's again as he whispered. "I am quite tempted to just take you back to our room and ravish you thoroughly."

"What's stopping you?" Seth carefully managed to press himself close to Marcus; a little indecent but he really could care less.

"For one, I don''t believe that dragging you off the dance floor only to push you up against the wall wouldn't go over too well with anyone present. And besides..." Marcus' hand trailed dangerously along the large bow at Seth's tail bone. "We do have the entire night ahead of us."

"Yeah, but I kind of want to get out of this _**now**_."

Marcus raised an eyebrow, lips quirking at the corners, "And who said that you would be taking it off?"

Cheeks turning pink, Seth glanced away briefly before looking a little shyly back at Marcus, "You like this that much?"

As the music drifted to an end, Marcus slid both his arms slowly down Seth's sides to his waist and pressed him to the other's, "I may have to admit that I am a bit partial to it... but only because it looks so flattering on you. Pink is really your color."

"You think?"

Seth let Marcus keep an arm around his waist as he escorted him from the dance floor. They passed by Embry and Alec who didn't even look up at them as they passed, too engrossed in the other to really care. The other shifter's cheeks were bright pink and one of Alec's hands was resting a little too suggestively on Embry's thigh.

Quickly looking away, Seth felt Marcus tense beside him and pull him just a fraction closer. Before he could ask why, a young man with sandy blond hair which was slicked back came over to them. He had a bit of a greasy look to him and his eyes looked a little bit empty, but Seth didn't miss the lecherous look in them when they raked over him. Unconsciously, he moved closer to Marcus and reached up to grab hold of the lapel of his jacket. He was determined not to go anywhere with this guy.

"Hello," he greeted, smiling. "I was wondering if you'd let me have the next dance miss. I haven't been able to take my eyes off of you all night."

Marcus growled and the threat in his voice was clear when he spoke, "My apologies, but if the lady wishes to dance it won't be with you."

The sickly sweet smile remained pasted on his face; he was obviously trying to be charming, "Ah, but if you don't mind, I'd like to hear my answer from the young lady herself." And then he turned towards Seth, holding his hand out to him.

Seth shook his head, but the guy didn't back down so he replied, "I'd rather not."

He frowned, but pressed on, "What about a later dance?"

"Not interested," Seth replied. He watched as the young man trudged off, looking dejected and giving Marcus the dirtiest look he'd ever seen. Of course, it couldn't match the look of pure murder that Marcus was sporting as he glared at him as he went.

Knowing that things could get ugly, Seth reached up and cupped Marcus' cheek and tilted his head down so that he could see those brilliant red eyes that he loved so much. He gave him a warm smile and rolled himself onto his toes, leaning heavily against Marcus as he did, and pressed his lips against the vampire's, pulling him into a deep kiss right there on the edge of the dance floor.

When they finally pulled apart, Seth was breathing heavily and feeling a little light-headed. His chest and abdomen strained at the corset that Alice had laced him tightly into, but he ignored that and smiled up at the vampire.

"Stay close to me?" Seth could feel curious and jealous looks directed at them.

Marcus brushed his lips against Seth's temple and smiled, "Of course. I won't leave your side."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The rest of the party went pretty well, and though Seth got a few more offers from a few hopefuls for dances but he turned them down. Usually that prompted Marcus to drag Seth back onto the dance floor – not that he was complaining – to be the center of attention yet again. Even Rosalie seemed to fade into the background just a little bit.

Alec managed to drag Embry out for a dance or two, but the older shifter was a little less sure on his feet than Seth and his ankles were already killing him from the heels he was wearing. Seth's boots were a little more comfortable and offered a little more support than the monster heels that Alice had given Embry.

It was one thing to be grateful for.

Though, Seth's feet started to hurt him too after a while. Eventually Marcus' hand around Seth's waist was basically holding him up; and the vampire did it effortlessly.

As the night dragged on, Seth eventually pulled Marcus off to the side of the room and cast a quick look around to make sure that they were alone before turning his full attention to his vampire. He smirked as he trailed a hand up his chest and grasped his cravat and pulled him down so their lips brushed, "Can we go now? It's getting late and I want to know what you have planned."

"Of course." And with a small smile, Marcus carefully guided Seth through the mass of people towards the door.

"Are you two leaving?" Alice bounced up to them. They hadn't seen her since she'd greeted them when they'd arrived, except for a couple of flashes of her in the crowd making sure that everyone was enjoying themselves and had everything that they wanted.

"Yeah, my feet are starting to hurt," Seth replied, smiling. "And well... we have a few things that we'd like to do before the night's over."

She clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle her giggles as she looked between the two of them, "I don't know what to think anymore! Did you turn Seth into this Marcus? Or do you two just have this influence on each other?"

The two exchanged a look and smiled at the tiny vampire. Marcus spoke first, "I think that we just bring out the best in each other is all. Don't you agree my love?"

Seth laughed at that, covering his mouth with a gloved hand, "I think so. But it was a really great party Alice, thank you for inviting us."

"I'm glad to hear that Seth and thank you!" She bustled over to the closet and reached it into the closet to fish out Seth's cloak which she handed to Marcus. "But you two will definitely come back right? When you're done spending some more _**quality time**_ together?"

"We'll be back as soon as I can drag Marcus out of the room," Seth replied, smiling.

She sighed, "I still don't get why you two insist on staying in town instead of with us; we've got more than enough room for the both of you. I could clean out one of the upstairs rooms and redecorate it..."

Blushing, Seth gave her a sheepish smile, "I don't think that you'd want us here when we're, well..."

"My apologies Alice," Marcus interjected, giving her his best charming smile. "I'm simply a rather private person. This arrangement is more for my comfort and preference then Seth's."

"Oh, you don't have to explain!" Alice replied, waving her hands about in a placating gesture. "I can completely understand that! I was just – you don't have to listen to me when I get like that. Sometimes I just run my mouth a little... you know, I'll speak whatever is on my mind and it's just me getting ahead of myself. Just need something to do with myself is all."

"It's alright," Seth replied, smiling. "I'll work on Marcus, you focus on whatever it is that you've got planned next. I'm sure it'll be amazing."

"Thanks Seth." She smiled at them before shooting a quick look around them, "Oh, you two had better hurry before your admirers catch up Seth!"

And with that, Alice shooed them out the door, closing it behind them with a soft click. The music and noises of the party were instantly muffled by the heavy wood, and the two continued down the stairs, Marcus helping Seth down as they did. The ancient vampire continued to be the perfect gentleman as he helped Seth into their car before climbing into the driver's seat.

Seth smiled at him as they pulled out onto the long drive, "That was fun, and you were amazing."

"Thank you." Marcus reached over and brushed his knuckles along Seth's cheek, "And you were beautiful. I do think that almost every man there was envious of me, though none of them suspected the truth."

The two shared a smile.

"Now the fun begins," Seth whispered, leaning towards Marcus conspiratorially. "Happy Hallowe'en Marcus."

**FIN.**

To whomever guesses who each character was dressed up as, I will write a drabble for you. And to whoever first correctly guesses where the costumes originate from will get one of the other parts of this continuity dedicated to them. So start guessing!

Longest one-shot I've ever written, and I hope that you enjoy this. I hope everyone had a wonderful Hallowe'en, had lots of fun, and ate lots of candy! Or scared themselves silly! Again, my apologies for this being a little bit belated.

For those of you waiting for an update of Complexity, I've already started the chapter and made considerable headway on it, but I do have three midterms in about the next two weeks, so studying for them is eating up a considerable amount of my time. Plus, NaNoWriMo started this month, so I'm working my ass off on that too. Wish me luck everyone!

Twilight.

PS. For those of you reading this on , the other parts of this continuity contain things that aren't appropriate for this site so they'll be posted on my LJ. There's a link to that on my profile; it's my homepage. I'll also post it on MediaMiner for any of those interested...


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